Do you know what other candidates are saying? If not, this Pug recommends that you thoroughly sniff out all the candidates and their platforms. For those of you who spend some time on Twitter, make sure to follow the peeps in your ward and those running for mayor. Some tweet more than others. This should be a good indicator as to the role of social media post election, so keep tabs on what is being tweeted; how often tweets are happening, and who is engaging in a dialogue or conversation as opposed to tweeting for the sake of tweeting.

There are 20 mayoral candidates, so let this Pug extend a helping paw to get you up to speed ok?

You’re first stop should be at the Elections 2010 page on the City of Ottawa’s website. It contains all the information you need to locate your ward, whether you are on the voters list or not, the closest voting stations, important dates, FAQs, and most importantly, the contact information for ALL CANDIDATES. If you can’t find the information you are looking for online, or in a pamphlet, then for the love of Pugs, call the candidate up and ask. An informed voter is an empowered citizen! So, spend some time on the City’s website. It will be worth your time.

A sampling of candidates:

Jim Watson has a website and he is an avid tweeter. Find him on Twitter @JimWatsonOttawa

Larry O’Brien has a website and tweets occasionally. Find him on Twitter here @LarryOBrien2010 (what is he going to do next year on Twitter?)

Clive Doucet has a website, some great videos and Tweets as well. Find him on Twitter @CLiveDoucet

Andrew (Andy) Haydon joined the mayoral race at the 11th hour. He has a blog that can be found here. He isn’t tweeting but he is worth a wiki. Check it out here.

Don’t forget to see who is running in your ward as well. What word do you live in? Great question! Check this out before researching who is running in your neck of the woods. Some wards, like Bay ward, have almost as many candidates running for the councilor’s seat as there are running for the mayor’s seat. These peeps want to represent you and your interests for the next four years, so learning more about their political platform is a great first step to a four year relationship no?

Now that we have the basics down, let’s move on to other, great resources:

Ottawa Citizen – A whole section of material specific to the upcoming election

Pugs are a fiercely loyal and committed breed. I think that I could really shake things up at City Hall for the better. I started this blog because I am convinced that a Pug could do a better job than our current mayor. I have him beat on social media paws down, and I’m pretty sure that I have the edge on basic financial math after reading his 8 point action plan. That said, my ultimate goal is to help Ottawa realize its potential. The best way I can do that is to facilitate any interested party in becoming better informed, and hopefully, engaged in the municipal election conversation. As the painting denotes, this Pug is all in!

Puggy high five!

Cleo

If I missed a resource that you found helpful, please leave a comment, Tweet us up or fire off an email to Cleo4Mayor@gmail.com. We will update this post for the balance of the campaign.